Read a summary of the book here.
Another of the twenty-two possible Truman nominees for 2020-21.
Game Changer tackles (pun intended) the difficult topic of whether or not football needs to be changed. The book begins where we find Teddy unconscious in the hospital after a football related injury.
I really enjoyed how this book was written, and I think that middle school students will like it as well.
The book is broken into parts instead of specific chapters. When people are in the hospital room, we “hear” everything from Teddy’s unconsciousness. It’s written in what looks like verse, but it’s not like the typical rhyming or rhythmic verse. It’s more like stream of consciousness, and the way it was written made it read very fast. Other sections show text message conversations – it literally looks like a phone conversation on the page, or a social media type post.
When I say this read fast, it really did. I finished in about 2 hours total.
Not a fan of football? That’s okay. I think you’ll like this book anyway. There is drama between Teddy’s parents, a secret that the entire football team is trying to keep, and a friendship that is tested. All the perfect elements of a good young adult drama.
Simply for the unique way the book was written, I gave this 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.
Michelle Reads & Writes 
I don’t care at all about football but I do like novels that are written in stream-of-consciousness. I’ll make sure to give this one a try. I personally think both football and boxing are way too dangerous and if I had a son I’d strongly encourage him to play something like soccer that’s less likely to end in a traumatic brain injury.
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